U. rule makes PennCard hard to obtain for gay partners

The PennCard is indispensable for any spouse who wants access to University facilities. But according to graduate student activist James Colgate, the process of obtaining PennCards for gay and lesbian spouses is unfair and unnecessary. Colgate, in an article in the Graduate Perspective in November 1991, argued against the current method of obtaining PennCards for gay or lesbian partners. Currently, the procedure entails gaining approval through the student's academic department, and then filing this approval with the PennCard center. Colgate, however, argued that this method of approval is too circuitous and can create an uncomfortable situation for the student requesting the card. "There are a lot of reasons why lesbian and gay students might not want to bring up their sexual orientation with their department and with professors within that department," Colgate said last week. Colgate said that allowing people within an academic department to decide "who is and who isn't a spousal equivalent" could also be a security problem because department officials can not verify the partner's status. Colgate advocated establishing a University-wide system with a written policy for giving access to the PennCard. He said that this would make the process less subjective. "If [the policy] is not written down, then someone who may not agree with the policy or not know that it exists may misinform someone," Colgate said. "If anything happens, you want to make sure that this is recorded for posterity," he added. Colgate, along with the Graduate and Professional Students Assembly, is currently lobbying the University to implement a centralized approval system. However, in spite of Colgate's arguments, University administrators and staff said they see no problem with the current departmentalization of PennCard approval for gay and lesbian spouses. PennCard Administrator Sandra Bates said this process, which is the same for heterosexual couples, is the most practical option. "The reason that we ask the department to authorize approval is that they know the student, so we feel that they should sponsor them," Bates said. Bates said the PennCard center only makes the cards, and does not authorize access. "We're a vehicle, and that's a good term to use," Bates said. Director of Systems Hospitality Services Frank Neithammer said that while his job is to authorize the card officially, he must receive departmental approval for authorization first. He added that he sees nothing wrong with the current procedure of authorization and approval. "I don't think there's an inconvenience being caused anyplace," Neithammer said. And University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich, said that he does not think that the current method of department approval causes a security risk. "I'm in favor of decentralized authorization by the schools and centers, simply because they know these people," Kuprevich said. "If there's a lack of a format for authorizing a secondary card for a spouse, maybe that's what has to be defined," he added. The PennCard is used to gain access to University's dormitories, dining halls, libraries and recreational facilities.

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